Home Again
by Rotcknn Ahren
Summary: REPOSTED! Sequel to Puerco Pibil. Warning: Spoilers and swearing (Darn that Sands tsk tsk) Just read and make the insane author a happy insane author! COMPLETE!
1. Wakeup Call

**Title:** Home Again

**Summary: **Sequel to Puerco Pibil: Sands is reunited with his love.

**Rating: **T

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Sands -tear.- He belongs to Robert Rodriguez and Troublemaker Studios. But I do own Maggie (the nameless girl from Puerco Pibil).

**Author's notes: **This is post-OUATIM. After 1½ years in Mexico, Sands returns to the US. Maggie, once working for Langley, is now a field agent.

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**Chapter 1**

The persistent ring woke her from a sound sleep. After repeatedly hitting her alarm clock, Maggie Coburn realized the annoying peal came from her phone. Swearing under her breath, she rolled over and picked up the small, black cellular and flicked it open. Bringing it to her ear, her tired voice spoke.

"What the hell do you want?"

The voice at the other end of the line was unmistakably that of her boss, James Wattley. She listened half-heartedly until one piece of information caught her attention.

"Are you serious? … How bad is it? … Oh my god. … I'll be there in twenty minutes." with that, she hung up and looked at the clock; 7:17 a.m. she stood, sighing, and dressed.

Ten minutes later, she was clothed, in her car, and on her way to the airport.

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Please R&R. 


	2. Coming Home

**Chapter 2

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**

Within a twenty-minute ride, Maggie arrived at the airport. After giving the large space the once-over, she quickly found Wattley.

"Ah, Maggie, thank God you're here! He's impossible!" Wattley's raspy voice said. An emaciated, aging man with thinning white hair, he stood proudly in one of his many expensive suits. As she approached him, Maggie noticed a slight purplish bruise developing on his cheekbone, just below his eye.

Sands, no doubt.

"Where is he?" Maggie asked, looking around.

Wattley pointed to a rather bloody and unkempt Sands sitting on a bench, casually speaking to anyone who dared go near him.

"What happened to him?" Maggie asked, she had heard the story of his encounter with the Barillo cartel, but had never imagined it had been that serious.

"He was shot three times, once in the arm and twice in the legs, and, uh… they took his eyes." Wattley responded, lowering his gaze to the floor.

"But why is he so… disheveled?" Maggie pondered, noticing his still dirty clothing and still bloody face.

"He refuses medical attention." He heard Maggie snort evocatively, but went on. "Look, Maggie, I'm sorry for having called you away from your much needed vacation, but I... no one's been able to go near him. He simply lashes out at them. So I thought you might be able to talk some sense into him."

Maggie sighed; she hadn't seen Sands in over a year. At first she had hated him for leaving her, but now, seeing him like he was, all she wanted to do was hold him in her arms and tell him everything was going to be alright, the way he had done for her those many years ago.

She casually approached him, making sure her footsteps were inaudible, a trait she had learned from him, and made her way in front of him. She kneeled to eye-level and tried to peer through his sunglasses. She gently put a hand on his forearm, but he quickly jerked away. Sands raised his good arm to hit whoever dared disturb him, but it was grabbed before he could lower it.

"Didn't I tell you stupid fucks to leave me the hell alone?" Sands spat out, bringing his arm back to his side.

"Hey Shel…" Maggie whispered, forcing away the tears that threatened to come.

"Maggie?" Sands cocked his head. He was facing the floor and his ear was turned towards her.

Maggie sniffled and stood. She took his good arm and helped him stand up. He rested most of his weight on her, but made no attempt to walk.

"Where are we going?" Sands asked, weary of the fact that he was now depending on a woman who most likely wanted to kill him.

Maggie slipped her arm around his waist and steadied him. "Home."

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R&R greatly appreciated, no flames please! 


	3. Home Again

**Chapter 3:**

The ride home had been quiet. They had entered the small apartment and Sands was walking around, feeling where things were and which rooms were where. Maggie followed close behind.

"Well you haven't changed." Sands said, quickly whirling around to face her.

"What do you mean?" she asked. She new he was trying to intimidate her, but she had learned long ago not to let him win, he wouldn't hurt her.

"You never talk, even when you have something on your mind." As he spoke, Sands casually leaned in closer to her.

Maggie sighed. "You refused medical attention." It was more of a statement then a question. When she got no answer, she went on. "Of course! You couldn't possibly make things any easier for me!"

Sands straightened, still leaning against the wall. "What do you mean, _your_ job?"

"You do realize that those bullets are gonna have to come out of you sometime, right? And since you refused medical help, guess who's stuck with the lovely task of tending to your wounds? Now, let's get this over with."

Maggie took his arm and led him to the spare bedroom, where he was to spend most of his time.

"Okay, sit on the bed and raise your arms."

Sands did as he was told and waited patiently for Maggie to help him remove his shirt, which was now caked in blood.

"Are you wearing boxers?" Maggie asked, throwing the blood-laden shirt into the trash.

"Well that depends, why?" Sands inquired cockily. He was now standing and doing a rather poor job of ignoring the pain that shot through his battered body and the oncoming headache in the back of his mind.

"Because I'd like to know what to expect when you're pants come off." She replied.

"Boy, you sure do cut to the chase, don't you Mags?" Sands quipped dryly. By now Sands was swaying back and forth, trying to fight back the blackness that threatened to sweep over him.

"Listen fuckmook, I find it _very_ hard to believe that you haven't noticed the two big lesions in your legs. So if you don't mind, shut your mouth before I tape it shut!"

Sands gulped knowing she would live to her convictions, and lowered his pants, revealing his blue-checkered boxers. Maggie sighed inwardly; thanking God he was wearing something. She took his pants and placed them in the trash with his shirt but made a point of removing his marijuana belt buckle that she had purchased for him many years ago.

After making him lie on the bed, Maggie dismally set to work, doing the best she could for the bulletwounds and scrapes. Once she had finished, she helped him sit up.

"Are you feeling okay? Do you want anything to drink?" she asked once he had found a comfortable sitting position.

"I'm fine." Sands replied, although the tone of his voice proved otherwise.

Maggie nodded, although aware that Sands could not see it, and took a deep breath. As she reached for his sunglasses, she let her fingers momentarily brush against the skin of his cheekbone, which was now covered in blood. Before she could remove his glasses, Sands grabbed her wrist.

"Don't." his voice was urgent, nearly scared. Maggie contemplated that for a moment and thought it in her best judgment not to scare him more than he probably was at the moment.

She smiled softly and let go of his sunglasses. Picking up a warm washcloth, she gently washed away the blood trailing down his cheeks and neck. Once she was done, Sands heard Maggie get up, move across the room, and tear something. She came back and took his hand in her own. She quietly placed the piece of material into his hand.

"What's this?" Sands posed letting his fingers travel over the smooth piece of cloth.

Maggie sighed. "I'm not going to force you to remove your glasses if you don't want to. But at least wear a blindfold. If go to bed wearing your sunglasses, you could hurt your… eyes even more."

Sands sighed and nodded. Turning away from her. He took off his sunglasses and gently put the blindfold over the empty cavities that once used to be his eyes. Maggie approached him and tied the ends securely at the back of his head.

"You got anything I could put on?" Sands asked, now realizing just how cold it was without his clothing on.

"No, unfortunately, I burned all your clothes a year after you left. If I new we were to meet again under these circumstances, I would have kept a few things." Maggie replied, the anger in her voice uncontrollably rising.

As she spoke those words, Sands' head lowered in ignominy. Maggie sighed and ran a hand across her face.

"You'll just have to sleep with a lot of blankets. I'll go to the store first thing tomorrow and buy you new clothing, okay? Now, you should get some rest. I doubt you've slept any in the past few days."

Maggie took his hand and guided him to the head of the bed where she pushed away the blankets. Sands made his way into the sheets, wincing while doing so, and laid down, although he made no apparent gesture to release her hand. Gingerly, he pulled her closer to him.

"Shel…" she whispered, unsure of what to do next.

"Please… just stay… I know I'm gonna have nightmares… and… I'd rather not wake up alone." Sands replied. _Like a child._ Maggi though.

By this time, Maggie had sat down on the bed and was soothingly running a hand over his brow. He definitely had a fever. She sighed and gently pushed on his shoulder. Sands backed away and made room for Maggie who then climbed in awkwardly. Once she had settled on her back, sands laid his head on her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her thin waist, bringing her close. If she had listened closely enough, Maggie could have sworn she had herd little sobs escaping Sands' mouth. A while passed without words until Sands' groggy voice broke the silence.

"G'night Mags."

"Goodnight Shel."

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Please R&R. 


	4. Flame Rekindled

**Chapter 4**

Many hours later, Maggie awoke to intense heat and a faint smell she would have once recognized. Opening her eyes, all she could see was darkness. She closed her eyes once more while that day's events flooded back into her mind. Sands. Sands in a bed. Sands in a bed with her. She then realized the heat was being emitted from his body and the smell was the after-tones of his cologne. Backing away, Maggie realized that she was trapped; something was keeping her from moving. Opening her eyes, she let them adjust to the surrounding dimness. Once her eyes were regulated, she saw Sand's neck and realized that she was trapped by Sands. Maggie had turned on her side, facing Sands, while asleep and they had wrapped their arms around each other. His chin rested against her head and his deep breathing indicated that he was still asleep.

Maggie squirmed around faintly until she could twist her head enough to see the clock; 11:43 p.m. she slowly removed Sands arm from her side and attempted to writhe out of the bed. This movement though faintly woke Sands up. He slightly lifted his head, shifted, and spoke groggily. A clear indication that he was still half-asleep.

"Baby? Somethin' wrong?" He blindly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"No Shel, go back to sleep." she said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. Sands released her hand and turned onto his back, mumbling something incoherent.

Silently exiting the room, Maggie made her way to the washroom.

She hadn't realized how bad she was in need of a shower. Unbeknownst to her, she had gotten some of Sands' blood on herself.

Turning off the water, Maggie wrung out her now-clean hair and stepped out off the shower… to the sight of Sands standing there.

Maggie yelped, only causing Sands to yelp in return.

"Damn Mags! It's just me." Sands said, putting his arms up in defense.

By this time, Maggie had grabbed her towel and was clutching it to her body.

"Sorry Shel… I'm just not used to coming out of the shower and have someone standing there!" she nearly yelled. No anymore, anyways. She snickered.

She felt the blood rush to her face, embarrassed by the fact that she knew Sands couldn't have seen her, even if he wanted to. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"I had a nightmare and when I woke up I was alone. I heard noise, so I came to see if you were okay. I didn't mean to scare you." The gentle tone in his voice told Maggie he was telling the truth. It was a side of him she had missed desperately.

Maggie then noticed he was shaking. "Are you all right?"

"Peachy-fuckin-keen." Sands replied.

"Look, why don't you go sit down in the kitchen or something while I go get dressed?" Maggie offered, Sands nodded and walked off.

Maggie sighed and trudged off to her room to dress. Once there she chose simple sweat pants and tank top, tied her hair back and walked into the living room where she found Sands standing there with his boxers barely hanging off his slim hips and blindfold gone, exchanged for his sunglasses.

Maggie stood there watching him. After a few moments, he took a few unsteady steps towards her. Before she knew it he had his arms around her waist and his head buried in the crook of her shoulder.

"I missed you so much." he whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry."

Maggie was sure that if Sands could, he would be crying now. She soothingly ran a hand through his hair. He slowly lifted his head and approached his face to hers.

"I love you, Mags…"

He didn't give her time to answer. In an instant his lips were on hers. He kissed her with all the relented passion of the past year and a half apart. He missed the taste of her.

Maggie broke the kiss and gently ran a hand on his cheek. Just as she touched his sunglasses, he grabbed her wrist.

"Please don't." he said in an almost child-like voice. Maggie had never seen him so vulnerable.

"It's okay." she whispered. He released her wrist and she slowly took off his glasses. She turned and threw them on the small coffee table. Turning back, she saw Sands, not as she remembered him. She saw Sands gulp and shake a bit. He was scared. He was scared she wouldn't accept him.

Maggie slowly traced a finger on his cheekbone, then his jawline. She leisurely raised herself and kissed him lightly.

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Please R&R.


	5. The Accident

**Chapter 5**

Sands awoke hours later to the silky feeling of Maggie's skin and the soft sound of her breathing. At that point, Sands would have shot himself in the foot if it meant he could have had thirty seconds to look a the woman he loved.

He leisurely let one of his hands drop to her body, falling onto her hip. He sleepily let his hand travel the expanse of skin that lay before him. He felt his way up from her hip to her ribs, to the sides of her breasts to her shoulders. He let his hands run across the span of her back, down from her shoulder to her lower back, and up to her other shoulder.

His hand stopped at the unusually rough feeling under his wandering fingers. Her felt her sigh and noticed that her breathing had changed. She had woken up during his exploration yet remained quiet.

Sands returned his thoughts to the odd sensation under his fingers. He then realized that what he was tracing was a scar. Maggie had a three-inch long scar running from the top of she right shoulder lengthwise down.

"What happened?" Sands asked, theworry in his voice very apparent.

"I had a car accident a few months after you left... a piece of glass got stuck in my shoulder blade. Got 16 stitches." Maggie answered. Her voice rang with sorrow.

Sands gently bent down and kissed the scar. Upon hearing Maggie somberly moan, Sands backed away. He felt the bed move as Maggie shifted to face him.

"Musta been a pretty bad accident if it makes you whimper at the thought." he knew she was looking at him and suddenly felt very subconscious about the fact that he had neither sunglasses nor blindfold to hide his hollow eyes.

Sands felt Maggie trace a finger on his jawline and rest her hand on the back of his neck.

"I don't wanna talk about it now." with that said, Maggie slowly raised herself on her elbow and cautiously kissed him.

Sands felt the bed move once more as she stood up. He heard clothes ruffling as she dressed.

"Come on, I'll make you some breakfast then we can go shopping for more clothes."


	6. Meeting The Colleague

**Chapter 6**

A week had passed since Sands arrived home and he made sure to prove how much he had missed Maggie. He had even resolved to possibly tell her he loved her. Maybe. If he was in a soundproof room. With all the lights of.

Sands awoke in the bed he shared with Maggie. Stretching his arms out, he was surprised to find he was alone. Straining his ears, he heard Maggie speaking. She was in another room. It was odd... Maggie didn't used to speak to herself before.

Sands stood and scrambled around naked in search of his clothing. He grabbed a pair of big jeans assuming - _hoping_-they were his, and put them on. Grabbing his sunglasses he felt his way out of the room not bothering with a shirt.

Being as silent as possible, he walked down the hallway, following Maggie's angry voice.

"Look! It's not gonna work! But if you wanna go ahead and try to get yourself killed, be my guest!" Sands heard her scream.

"Talking to ourselvesare we, Mags? You know, that's not very healthy." Sands quipped dryly, feeling around only to find out they were in the living room.

"Actually Shel, I'd like you to meet my partner, Jeremy Cunningham." Maggie replied. Sands noticed how she put no feeling into the word 'partner'.

Sands heard the sound of fabric on fabric, then felt a hand in his.

"It's a pleasure to meet you agent Sands. We've studied your case at Langley." said an overly-happy voice.

Sands jerked his hand away from the one Jeremy presented.

"My case? What the hell are you on fuckmook?" Sands replied. He could hear the younger man gulp and sit back down.

"Jeremy's fresh off the farm and Langley assigned him to me." Maggie's voice said. Sands jolted back, surprised by how close Maggie's voice had come from, but quickly regained his cool.

"Really? Well ain't that just peachy-fuckin-keen? So what have you two—" Sands started before being interrupted by the persistent ring of a phone. It came from the bedroom.

"Shit, must be Wattley. I'll be right back. Sands... try not to kill him, ok?" Maggie replied before her footsteps could be heard jogging down the hallway.

Sands heard Jeremy gulp again and slowly walked over to him.

"Well Jer, let's see if you can be at all helpful." Sands said, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. He pulled out a wrinkled old picture and handed it to Jeremy.

"Is that agent Coburn!" Jeremy asked upon seeing the photograph of a smiling Maggie sporting waist-length hair and a bikini, lounging by a pool.

"Hey! Put your eyes back in their sockets boy." Sands said sarcastically. "Tell me if she's changed since then."

Sands heard Jeremy shift and clear his throat.

"Well, her hair's shorter, 'bout shoulder length, she lost some bit of weight, her skin's darker." Jeremy paused, studying the picture. "God, I didn't know agent Coburn could smile like that."

"What do you mean?" Sands asked. Maggie always had a smile on. From what he remembered, anyways.

"Well, she hasn't smiled much since the baby."


	7. The Baby

**Chapter 7**

"Baby?" Sands asked, his interest piqued.

"She didn't tell you..." Jeremy replied. He put the picture down onto the coffee table.

"Jeremy, you're gonna do me a big-boy favor, okay? You're gonna pack your shit up and leave. I need to have a little chat with my girlfriend." Sands said angrily, all but pushing Jeremy at the door. He leaned his forehead on the door and sighed. Upon hearing Maggie's soft footsteps, Sands turned around.

"So Wattley wants to see us tomm-- Where'd Jeremy go? You didn't kill him, did you?" Maggie laughed, noticing they were one person short.

"Baby?" Sands asked. Crossing his arms as he approached her. His calm demeanor was gone. His face was now a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Excuse me? Shel, where did Jeremy go?" Maggie asked getting impatient.

"Jeremy told me there was a baby. Care to explain what he meant?" Sands questioned.

Sands heard Maggie sigh and imagined her whole character must have changed. He continued.

"So there was a baby. So, did you fuck one of the guys at Langley while I was away. Huh? Did you have his fuckin kid?" Sands yelled.

"No, Shel, it wasn't like that! Please—" Maggie tried to reason, but to no avail. Sands temper kept flaring.

"Then what was it like? Were you fucking him behind my back?" Sands screamed, grabbing her arm.

Maggie writhed out of Sands' grasp and sighed once more. She sat on the couch and buried her face in her hands.

"About a week after you left, I went in for my physical, and... I found out I was pregnant. Wattley said they were gonna call me as soon as they contacted you. About five months into the pregnancy, there was the car accident and I... I lost the baby. Wattley thought it best you not find out." Maggie said, holding back her sobs.

Sands face melted. He slowly walked to Maggie and crouched in front of her. Holding her into his arms, sands let her cry on his shoulders.

"Baby I am so sorry. I had no idea." Sands said, nuzzling her neck. Sighing, he lifted his face to hers. "I love you Maggie."

Maggie hurriedly wiped her cheeks and stared into Sands' face. A small smile spread over her lips.

"I love you too..." she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.


	8. Letting Things Out

**Chapter 8**

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sands demanded, rushing into Wattley's office uninvited.

"Sands! What are you doing here?" Wattley cried, spilling tea over his now forgotten papers.

Sands stopped halfway to Wattley's desk and turned his head towards the raspy sound of Wattley's sparse breathing.

"I asked you a question. What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sands posed, his tone menacing. Good, he wanted Wattley to be scared.

"What are you talking about Sands? Who let you in here?" Wattley said as he stood, his own voice rising.

"Why did you never tell me Maggie was pregnant?"

Wattley sighed and sat down, defeated.

"When it happened, we couldn't seem to reach you. And by the time contact was restored between you and the company, it all seemed to be in the past." Wattley said, watching in fear as Sands' face contorted with anger.

"Well it isn't in the fuckin' past! Not to Maggie and not to me!" Sands all but yelled, crossing the short distance to Wattley's desk, nearly stumbling across a chair.

"Look, Sands, what do you want me to say? What's done is done!" Wattley stated, regaining some of his confidence.

"You know what?" Sands retorted in an all-too-conversational tone, "Fuck you."

And with that he stormed out of the office.

"Shel? Where have you been?" Maggie questioned, seeing her lover walk through the door.

"I had something to do, but I'm back now. And before you ask, yes everything is fine and no I didn't kill anyone." Sands quipped, quickly finding Maggie and wrapping his arms around her waist. He absent-mindedly rubbed her belly.

"Shel…" Maggie began uncertainly. "If I found out I was pregnant before you left, would you… have stayed?" she asked. She felt Sands tense sharply then relax and soften his hold on her. He sighed on her neck.

"Baby, if I had known you were pregnant, I never would have left the bedroom."


	9. Waking Up Alone

**Chapter 9**

Sands listened as Maggie's breathing slowed as she fell asleep. He hugged her closer and let the darkness overtake him as well.

Sands awoke a few hours later; he figured it must have been quite early in the morning since it was slightly cold and humid. Probably around 5 a.m. Sands sat up then fell back down. He groaned out loud and realized he was all alone. He tried to sit up once more but fell back down. His head felt as if it was surrounded in water.

He sat up slowly, threw off the blanket, and swung his jean-clad legs over the side of the bed. _If I had eyes, the room would be spinning by now_ Sands thought bitterly.

"Maggie?" Sands called out. No answer. "Typical. She's probably got her CD walkman blaring over her ears."

Gradually, Sands stood completely, using the bedpost to lean on. He made his way to the open bedroom door. His heavy footsteps rang loudly on thewoodenfloor of the empty hallway. Something's wrong. Sands thought. His head felt as if it were full of cotton. Grabbing the edge of a chair, Sands cocked his head to the eerie silence filling the apartment.

"Maggie? Hello." he said. His voice was panicked.

_What the hell is going on?_ he thought to himself. _I'll try and call her…_

Sands walked to the phone, having to lean on objects every-so-often. Picking up the phone, he internally thanked god to have a dial with raised numbers. Feeling each button, Sands dialed her number. 555-6198. Okay Mags, pick up.

_Bring, bring._

Sands turned around quickly. Too quickly that he fell to the floor. Her cellphone was home. Picking himself up, Sands lay one hand on the counter while the other was busy rubbing the bruise that was most likely appearing on his forehead. His whole body felt like he was in a state of dream.

"Maggie?" Sands called out once more, his voice now filled with terror.

It was time to pay a visit to Wattley


	10. Visiting Wattley

A/N: I don't know what Ajedrez's real name was, so I'm gonna call her Helena from now on.

* * *

**Chapter 10**

"Mr. Wattley, there's a gentleman Sands here to see you." Wattley's secretary informed him.

"Send him in, Anita." Wattley replied. Anita nodded and left, closing the door behind her.

Truthfully, Wattley has been expecting Sands for a while now. Ever since he got the call.

Wattley lifted his eyes as he heard the door re-open. A very frustrated Sands stood there.

"Where is my girlfriend?" Sands asked in an almost conversational tone. The only factors that demonstrated his true aggravation were the creases in his brow and his pursed lips.

"Look Sands, maybe you should sit dow--" Wattley began before being interrupted.

"Where. Is. My. Girlfriend." Sands asked again. He remained standing.

Wattley sighed and sat down. Sands walked casually to his desk and sat in one of the over-stuffed chairs.

"Look, Sands, umm… Margaret's been taken…"

"Taken? By who?" Sands was now gripping the edge of his chair.

"Carmen Barillo." Wattley answered, flipping through a folder.

"Barillo…" Sands echoed in a whisper.

"Yes, daughter to Armando Barillo, sister to Helena, also known as Ajedrez. Carmen is now the leader of the Barillo cartel." After he was done, Wattley replaced the files into the folder and back into his desk drawer.

"Well, that's all nice and dandy, but what does all of this have to do with my Maggie? She was never part of the Barillo op.!" Sands asked. He now stood with both hands resting on Wattley's desk.

"We all know that Sands, but Carmen is doing this for payback. Payback for the death of her family." Wattley informed Sands. A look of confusion crossed the younger man's features.

"And just how, pray tell, do you know all this?" Sands asked, seating himself once more.

"We got a call this morning by one of Carmen's henchmen, he informed us of all this. They broke into your apartment in the middle of the night, drugged you both, and kidnapped her." Wattley said, giving Sands a moment to take this all in before continuing. "He gave me his word that she hasn't been harmed."

"And you trust his word?" Sands asked, his voice coated in disbelief.

"So far, it's the only word we've got."


	11. Carter

**Chapter 11**

Sands sat in the briefing room with twenty-five agents and Wattley. Wattley stood at the front of the room, showing a picture every once in a while.

He held up the picture of an attractive woman in her mid-thirties. She had an uncanny resemblance to Ajedrez… uh… Helena.

"This, gentlemen, is Carmen Barillo, the leader of the new Barillo cartel. This is the woman that is holding Agent Coburn. She is hiding in the abandoned warehouse on Waverley Rd. My plan is to send five guys in to get her out. No fuss, no muss. -Understand?" Wattley informed the half-hearted agents. After receiving a few nods and some 'yeah's, Wattley sighed and continued. "Who wants this job?"

At once, all hands shot up. Wattley sighed and ran a hand over his tired face.

"Okay, um… Jackson, Carter, Smith, Mathews and Conzaki, it's yours. Now, next ste-" Wattley began before being interrupted.

"I'm going." said a voice in the back.

Everyone moved away to let Wattley see who had spoken… Sands.

"I'm going. And I'm not taking those five lumbering jackasses with me."

"Sands…" Wattley began. "I think it in your best interest not to go."

"Oh? Why's that?" Sands asked, cocking a brow.

"Well, for one you're not an agent anymore, and, well… you're, uh… disability…" Wattley said as nonchalantly as he could.

"Oh, you mean the fact that I have no eyes?" Sands asked. Wattleystarted to answer but Sands cut him off. "No! You listen to me Wattley! I'm goin' in to save my girlfriend. I can shoot just as good as any of these shmos you got lined up here. I just need one agent to describe the surroundings, other than that, I'm fine." his voice showed that this option was non-negotiable.

"Fine, but one slip-up and you're out. Carter, you're going with him." Wattley said. Carter turned around to look at Sands. Fear struck his face. He had heard about Sands and about his… mental abnormalities.

"Well, now that that's settled, here's the plan…"


	12. The Last Barillo

"spoken"

_thoughts_

/spanish/

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Ooohhhh…" Maggie groaned, lifting her hand to touch her throbbing head. She shook the grogginess away, letting her arms drop back at her sides.

She shifted but stopped suddenly when she realized she wasn't lying on a bed, but propped up against a cold, stone wall. She sat up sharply but was pulled back. She started shaking her arms wildly about and realized she was shackled to the wall. It was too dark to see her surroundings but Maggie could tell the room was small, empty, and had a reasonably high ceiling.

_Okay… so I'm wearing next to nothing, I'm in a strange room, and I'm constrained to a wall._ Maggie thought to herself, noticing how cold it was in her tank top and light cotton pants.

Upon hearing a noise, Maggie willed her body to go limp, making it seem as though she had never awoken. Someone was unlocking the entrance. With a loud creak, the large door sprang open and a sliver of light illuminated the room.

Three sets of feet walked in, Maggie noted. Two men and one woman. The men were well over six feet, and the woman was only one inch taller than Maggie herself.

"So the bitch still sleeps?" the woman said. She had a deep Mexican accent. Turning towards Maggie, she let her boot-covered foot make contact with Maggie's ribs in a bone-cracking kick. It took all of Maggie's strength not to yell out in pain. She surely had a rib or two broken.

/Watch her. If she awakens, alert me./ the woman said before leaving her two companions, closing the door behind her.

God, what am I going to do? Maggie thought before slipping into unconsciousness.


	13. The Warehouse

**Chapter 13**

"So what do you see?" Sands asked. They were both crouching in front if the dilapidated warehouse, hidden behind empty crates.

"Not to big, 'bout the size of a house, s'all dark inside, two guys are hangin' outside." Carter replied in a monotonous voice.

"And?" Sands questioned."

"And that's it. The guys are about your height, I don't see any guns, but they look tuff."

"Well, if they don't have any guns, that's a bonus for me. "

With that, Sands stood and walked to where he could hear the two men talking.

"Hey gents, how's it goin'?" Sands asked nonchalantly, the gun at his hip already cocked and ready.

"Hey!" One of the guys began. "What the fuck are y-"

He was cut short by the sound of a gun.

He was dead before he hit the floor.

The second man started for the door, making the dead leaves under his feet crackle. _Bad move._ Sands shot the second man in the head. He turned quickly and jogged near to where the crates, and Carter, sat.

Sands heard an awkward coughing to his left and turned to feel the corner of the crate press into his arm. He sat beside a petrified Carter.

"Okay, now you have to be very quiet," Sands began, as if talking to a child, "because some big bad men are going to come and investigate."

"How did y-" Carter started.

"Shh!" Sands chided. Sure enough, more men past the threshold onto the doorstep.

"So, how many are there?" Sands questioned. He could hear their voices, but they were overlapping and Sands couldn't figure out how many were speaking.

"Four. And these ones _are_ armed." Carter replied.

Sands simply smiled.

"This is going to be fun."


	14. Four More Down

**Chapter 14**

Sands and Carter stood on the porch, surrounded by four dead bodies.

"That was too easy." Sands said more to himself that to Carter.

_"So here's the plan," Sands started, "You go up, make a jackass out of yourself as you normally do, and then, once they're sufficiently distracted, I put them all out of their misery of being around you."_

_"You're joking! ... Right?" Carter asked._

_"Ah Carter," Sands started, as he put a hand on Carter's, "You should know by now, I never joke."_

_Sands then stood, dragging Carter with him. He pushed Carter out in front of the crates._

_"Hey! What are you doing here?" One of the guys asked. They started approaching Carter, who frantically searched around for Sands._

_"Hey! I asked you a question!"_

_Sands could hear their footsteps and the cocking of their guns from his hiding spot behind the crates. _C'mon, just a little closer._ He heard one of them speak incoherently, probably drunk, and thought to himself: _This is it.

_He stood and shot the drunken one, who immediately fell. All guns were now pointed to Sands._

_"What the fuck is going on?" One of them asked. He was the next to go._

_At that moment, Sands shot wildly, emptying two of his guns into whatever stood in front of hum._

_One of them men was hit dead in the neck, while the other was hit in the shoulder. Sands heard the man fall and pant in pain. He kneeled beside him and clamped his hand over the man's wound._

_"Where is she?" Sands demanded._

_"Who?" The man responded. Sands put pressure on the wound, causing the man to groan loudly._

_"Shut up!" Sands alleviated some of the pressure. "Your boss, Carmen Barillo, where is she?" _

_"She's in the upstairs office." The man gasped out, obviously in pain._

_"Good, now, who else is in the house?" Sands asked calmly. Applying more pressure to the man's shoulder._

_"There are three more guys. I don't know where they are. Then there's the girl."_

_"Maggie…" Sands whispered, and then raised his voice, bring out a gun and holding it against the man's neck. "The girl. Where is she?"_

_"She's downstairs somewhere, I'm not sure, I've never been." The man sighed when he felt Sands rise._

_But his breath hitched when he saw the glimmer of a gun pointed towards his head._

_"What are you doing?" The man questioned. "I tell you what you wanna know, and you let me live. That's how these things work!"_

_"Sorry buddy, rules don't apply to me."_

_And the man was down, a gunshot between the eyes._

Sands turned "Well, you heard the man, let's go."

With that, they entered the house.


	15. What The Hell Is Going On?

**Chapter 15**

Sands and Carter stood in the doorway of the old warehouse.

"What's it like?" Sands whispered.

"It's barely able to stand. The walls are just about to fall, and the floorboards have huge cracks in them. It smells musty." Carter whispered back. Sands would have rolled his eyes, if he could.

"I _know_ it smells musty, fuck-nugget, they took my eyes, not my nose." Sands replied, "Now, where do you think Barillo's office is?"

"Well," Carter said, looking around, "there's light at the end of the hallway."

"Good enough for me." Sands quipped.

They crept down the hallway, guns ready, not making a noise. That is, until Sands banged his shin into a crate.

"Carter you little fuck! You're supposed to tell me if there's anything close to where I'm planning on putting my foot!" Sands yelled.

Carter opened his mouth to retaliate, but quickly stopped himself at the sound of people approaching. Soon, three guys entered the hallway.

"Well, what have we here?" One of them spoke with a heavy Mexican accent.

"Are they armed?" Sands turned to Carter.

"I don't know. I don't think so." Thankfully, Carter still had an iota of balls and didn't break down crying at that moment exactly.

"Good." Sands drawled.

"Who are you guys?" The one with the Mexican accent asked.

"Sheldon Jeffrey Sands, CIA." Sands then shot into the hallway, not caring about anything but finding Maggie and getting her home.

He stopped firing once his guns rang empty. A few drops of blood ran down his cheek. He turned to Carter, who stood there stunned.

"They dead?" Sands asked to the immobile figure he presumed was still at his side. _Maybe I shot him. Oh well._

"……Yeah. They're dead." Carter whispered, trying to regain control of his shaky voice.

"What the hell is going on?"


	16. Saving Maggie

**Chapter 16**

Carter and Sands turned towards the spoken voice. Carmen Barillo stood there, starring down at the four corpses, which lay at her feet.

In a flash, Sands was at her front, pointing a gun at her neck.

"Who the fuck are you?" she demanded.

"Oh? You don't remember me? Why, Carmen, I'm hurt," Sands quipped. He lifted his sunglasses to reveal the two hollow voids.

Carmen gasped. "You're him. _Sands_." She sneered.

"Good girl, now, _seeing _as I've got a gun pointed to you, I suggest you do as I say." Sands drawled, desperately trying not to give in to the animal in him and shoot her right away.

"I don't think so." She replied, pulling out a gun of her own and placing it on her temple. "What we have here is known as a Mexican stand-off. Two people point guns at each other, both want to shoot, but neither want to die. So they stand there, advancing to nothing."

"Not nothing." Carter instilled, holding a gun to Carmen's head.

Carmen sighed, defeated and dropped her gun. She lifted her hands in the air

"She's downstairs, in a crawlspace." She sighed, closinh her eyes in shame.

"Not good enough." Sands argued. "You're coming with us. Just lead the way."

The three of them descended into the chilly basment, Carter and Sands both pointing their guns towards Carmen.

"Through there. Just follow the hallway to the metal door." Carmen replied, shivering from the cold and damp air.

"Well thank you very much for the help, Miss Barillo, I do believe I will shoot you now." Sands replied, pointing his gun in the general direction in which Carmen stood.

Carmen opened her mouth to scream but only gasped at the intense pain that ripped through her stomach. She fell to the floor, a pool of blood quickly spreading from the wound in her stomach.

Carter and Sands entered the long hallway. The closer they approached the door, the colder it seemed to get.

"Gods, Agent Sands, it's like a freezer in here, no way in hell could Maggie survive this for days!" Carter said, rubbing his palms together.

"Shut up! You don't know how strong Maggie can be when she wants." Sands yelled, unsure as to whether he was trying to convince Carter or himself.

They finally reached the door. Carter tried to open the door but couldn't.

"We need a key or somethin'." He argued, turning towards Sands, who grew more and more impatient.

"Fuck keys." He whispered taking out his gun and shooting straight for the lock.

"How did y-" Carter started. Sands pushed past him and opened the door. the cold air attacked his lungs, giving him difficulty to breath.

"Maggie?" he cried out in the ever-lasting darkness.

"Over here, Sands." Carter called out from the far left corner of the dingy room.

Sands rushed over and kneeled near her body, cradling her.

"How's she look?" he asked Carter.

"Not very good." To Sands' shock, Carter had actually retreated to another corner of the scope.

"Maggie… C'mon Mags, wakie-wakie." He gently rubbed her cheek. "C'mon Maggie, you gotta wake up, please baby, wake up!" he buried his head in the crook of her neck, reciting the same word, _please_, over and over again.

"Shel?" Maggie whispered. Her voice was coarse from the lack of food and water over the past few days, but to Sands it was the best sound in the world.

"Yeah, baby. It's me. I found you." Sands choked out. He silently thanked whoever for not having tear glands. No point in making an ass out of himself in front of Carter.

"Where's Barillo?"

"She's dead, baby. I killed her."

"Damn." Maggie chuckled. "I wanted the honors of doing that."

Sands laughed quietly then felt her hand upon his face. He nuzzled it and kissed her palm.

"Are you hurt?" he questioned. Already knowing she would be, but hoping it was nothing to serious.

"Just my ribs, I think a couple are broken." She replied. Sands thought for a moment, then got on his knees. He picked her up and carried her to the door. "Come on baby, let's go home."

* * *

**Author's note:**

Kudos for anyone who caught that hint about another Johnny Depp movie.


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue **

Sands lay on the beach, enjoying the sound of the waves and the warmth of the sun on his face.

It was a month after the Barillo incident, and Sands and Maggie had been sent to Baja, courtesy of Wattley.

Upon hearing rustling behind him, Sands turned and raised his gun.

"If you shoot me, I promise I'll be very angry." Maggie joked.

Sands smiled, dropped his gun, and opened his arms to his lover. Maggie accepted his embrace and nuzzled in his lap. She lay back and hid her face in the crook of his neck. After a while without words, Sands heard Maggie sniffle and felt drops on his shoulder.

"Baby? What's wrong?" Sands asked, sitting up.

Maggie smiled. "Shel…

I'm pregnant."

* * *

**_Fin_**


End file.
